Diabetes

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT DIABETES - PAGE 4

The American Diabetes Association issued new dietary guidelines yesterday saying that people with the disease can eat sweets occasionally as long as they keep their blood sugar levels under control. The new guidelines are designed to improve the treatment and prevention of diabetes and to simplify the lives of an estimated 16 million Americans who have it. Although specialists have advised patients for years that they can consume sugary foods if they control their blood sugar levels, there is still widespread belief that a person with diabetes should never eat concentrated carbohydrates, such as sweets.

By Linda Siemon and Linda Siemon,Special to the Sun | December 15, 1999

For most people, candy and desserts are sweet indulgences to be enjoyed anytime. But for those with diabetes, the sugary temptations can make them sick, very sick.This can be especially difficult for the parents of children with diabetes. They constantly have to monitor what their child is eating, especially during the holidays, when treats seem to be everywhere."It takes over your life," says Joyce Mason of Glen Arm, whose 9-year-old son, Tyler, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when he was 2. "You don't have a child with diabetes.

In the hunt for better treatments for the growing and related epidemics of diabetes and obesity, researchers may have uncovered an unlikely drug: sugar. Tagatose is a natural, low-calorie sugar that has been used to sweeten such things as orange juice and candy in Europe. And, for a short time, it was used in Diet Pepsi Slurpees at 7-Eleven in the United States. But now tagatose is in a yearlong clinical trial to show that it's not just a palate pleaser but a manager for the most common form of diabetes, Type 2. If the trial goes well, it could be a big step in tagatose becoming a medicine, and eventually, an uber-sweet diet aid, according to an article in February's Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- An experimental insulin inhaler worked just as well as injections in a study of diabetics, which was released yesterday at the annual American Diabetes Association conference in Chicago.If the inhaler is effective in large trials starting this fall, it may some day replace most or all of the daily shots that diabetics need, a University of Miami professor said in releasing the study."This could dramatically change the way we treat diabetes," said Dr. Jay Skyler, lead researcher in the study.

ROCKVILLE - Otis Brawley tells the story with no rancor, no anger, but with more than a bit of sadness. It is a story of his mother. Brawley heads the federal Office of Special Populations Research for the National Cancer Institute here, essentially in charge of finding out why there is a gap in cancer care for minorities and other groups and how to change that. It is a warm spring day when he tells the story. But when it is over, there is a chill in the air. His mother has diabetes; she has had it for a long time.

On his best days, Orioles fifth starter Jason Johnson carries what his manager describes as an "electric" fastball plus an obedient breaking ball and a developing changeup. Johnson also possesses the potential that the club sees in Sidney Ponson and Matt Riley, arms projected as the backbone of their rotation for at least the next four seasons.Johnson also lives with diabetes, a disease so intrusive he often carries a syringe with him to the bullpen. He is never far from the kit that tests his blood sugar level every two or three waking hours.

By ELIZABETH LARGE and ELIZABETH LARGE,Sun Reporter | February 21, 2007

When we first heard about Maggie Smith's situation, it didn't seem as serious as some we've dealt with in The Sun's monthly Make Over My Meal series. Boy, were we wrong. The 32-year-old working mother of two does a good job of getting a meal on the table every night in spite of a lengthy commute from Owings Mills to her home in Frankford. Usually the family has dinner together, and everyone pretty much eats the same thing. While 4-year-old Melina and 2-year-old Myles aren't great eaters, they enjoy some fruits; and Smith makes sure they drink lots of milk.

Normal wounds heal within weeks, but for people with health problems, the injuries may fester for much longer. In the worst cases, persistent wounds that aren't treated can infect the bone and even lead to amputation. Dr. Kapil Gopal, vascular surgeon and assistant professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and medical director of the Maryland Wound Healing Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center's Midtown Campus, talks about treatment options for severe wounds.

Calvin Maddox was buried today, in the city where he won acclaim. The point guard on Dunbar's 1977 and 1978 Maryland Scholastic Association A Conference basketball champions, he was 54 years old. Maddox, who lived in Baltimore, died Nov. 2 after battling diabetes for a number of years. A three-sport standout at Dunbar, he was The Evening Sun's Male Athlete of the Year in 1978, after earning All-Metro honors in basketball, winning the MSA long jump and starring in football as a running back.

FORNOSOVO, Russia - Of course, Valentina Sukharchuk said, the doctors should have told her more forcefully about the danger of diabetes, warned her that lapses in diet and medication would bring on gangrene. Even so, she refused to blame them for the loss of her legs. "Oh, no," she said in a brave, booming voice. "I blame myself. I'm not critical of anyone else. But I didn't know what could happen to my legs. They never told me about the legs. If they had showed me I could die or lose my legs - that would have been an entirely different thing."